


Christmas Lights

by halliver



Category: Tenet (2020)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Just pointless christmas fluff to be honest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28515696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halliver/pseuds/halliver
Summary: David found Neil, just in time for Christmas.
Relationships: Neil/The Protagonist (Tenet)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	Christmas Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Christmas, wine, and a lovely anon in my tumblr inbox. 
> 
> This fic is something of a sequel for one of my previous fics, Goodbye, Grandfather. I would recommend you to read it first, this one will make a lot more sense after that.

Snow is falling slowly, as David walks the streets of Geneva. There’s no hurry in his steps. He had found what he was looking for, the answer to his aching heart. He still has no idea why he is here, why he is alive, but he knows that he now has a home to go to.

David pulls out his key out of his pocket and smiles at the memory of Neil giving it to him.

_“You’re comfortable giving a complete stranger your key?”_

_“If you are planning to rob me or murder me in my sleep, this has to be the most convoluted way of doing it. If you went through all this trouble just for that, you’ve deserved the prize.”_

He opens the door, and Neil is still sitting where David left him. On his sofa, staring at his laptop with a frustrated look on his face. As he hears the door slam shut, he lifts his gaze, and a smile spreads across his face.

“You came back”, Neil says, and David hates how desperately relieved he sounds. _When will you stop expecting me to disappear?_

“Of course, I did. What are you doing?”

Neil bites his lip and taps the table with his fingers, twitching in his seat with anxiety. “I don’t honestly know. I should be writing a grant application, but I have no idea what to do. With my research. With my life.”

“What do you mean?”

“You told about your universe’s scientist. The one who invented the algorithm, tried to get rid of it, and supplied the world with means for its own demise.” Neil closes the lid of his laptop and leans back. “She may have invented the algorithm, but she didn’t do it alone. No one ever does. All scientific advancement is built upon decades and decades of prior research. People tend to think that science is a lonely endeavour, but really, it’s the world’s largest group project.”

“That hardly matters anymore, that world is gone.”

“But this one isn’t. What if I continue my research on entropy and inversion, and decades, maybe centuries later, piece of that research lands on that scientist’s table, but in this universe? What if I partly cause the algorithm to be invented here?”

“And the world ends again?” David feels his muscles tensing and tells himself to breathe.

“I mean, it could happen? You told me about the inverted bullet, how it never moves if you, at some point, don’t put your hand there. What if I refuse to move my hand? Would it have any effect? I mean, I am only one person, I doubt I have any significance, but still. It’s unnerving.”

“I… Don’t know.” David walks to Neil, places his hand on Neil’s shoulder. _He’s real, he’s here._

“This is really surreal, you know? It is obvious that what we do now affects the future. But it really is different once you know that the future might have the possibility to come to the present to kick your ass for it.”

“It could have already happened, if it makes you feel better. Maybe this universe’s Tenet is slightly more competent than I was.” David wraps his arms around Neil and burrows his face to his blonde hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you a headache.”

Neil leans on David’s chest and closes his eyes. “Don’t be. I’m glad you are here. More than you could imagine. Besides, I feel bad whining when you are the one who actually had to survive the apocalypse.”

“It’s fine. I’ve had time to deal with it. And now with you here… It’s fine.”

“You sure? You can always talk to me, you know.”

“I know. I will.” David smiles and kisses Neil’s forehead. “But not today, okay? It’s Christmas, after all. I actually bought you something. Or us, really.”

David grabs the paper bag he had brought with him and hands it to Neil. Neil pulls the content’s out: two sweaters, one red and one green, with the corniest Christmas pattern David had been able to find.

Neil laughs. “Oh god. These are absolutely…”

“Horrible?” David suggests.

“The ugliest things I have ever seen. Absolutely disgusting. I love them.”

“I thought we could use some Christmas spirit. What do you usually do at Christmas, by the way? I hope I haven’t ruined your plans.”

Neil shakes his head. “No plans to ruin, really. I am usually at home. I work a little, then I get absolutely wasted, with the preferred Christmas beverage of the country I am currently in. I have a stash of Glühwein ready, actually.”

“Not big on Christmas?”

“No. Never had anyone to celebrate it with. It’s a great holiday to remind you of how alone you are. Besides, I hate Christmas songs. Just additional misery.” Neil’s tone is cheery, but David can hear the sad undertones, and once again he feels compelled to pull Neil into his arms.

“You’re not alone, now.”

“No, I’m not.” Neil smiles. “And I have an ugly sweater, as well. That’s new.”

As the night falls, they put on their sweaters, light candles, pour wine, and curl next to each other on the sofa.

“We look ridiculous”, Neil says, and takes a sip from his mug.

“Working as intended, then.”

“Then intention being?”

David laughs. “Make you feel happy, festive, all that. I am not going to let you be miserable on Christmas, not on my watch. Besides, I think you look good. Red is definitely your colour.”

Neil doesn’t answer, but blushes slightly.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” David asks Neil, who is mostly focused on distracting his cat from the candles.

“Soulmates? Not really. Never really liked the idea that there is the one only for everyone. Seems pretty unlikely that you would ever run into yours, amongst billions of people. Though, the universe is certainly making a case for it, right now.”

“Is that flirting?” David tries to hide his smirk with very little success.

“Oh yes, it’s me who’s flirting, when you brought up the subject of fucking soulmates.” Neil rolls his eyes and shakes his head in disbelief. “Do you? Believe?”

“I believe in you.”

“How cheesy.” Despite his words, Neil’s face shows nothing but longing, and he leans on David’s shoulder.

“Apparently I am, these days.”

With Neil curled in his lap, David feels an intense wave of happiness, followed by familiar anguish. Even after all this time, every now and then he still wakes up to the sight of Ives dying in front of him, to Neil’s empty eyes staring at him. And then, there are days he sees those images even when awake.

“What is it?” Those same blue eyes, this time filled with life, stare at David with concern.

David blinks and tries to shake the images of death and destruction from his mind. “What?”

“You look… Sad. Troubled. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking, about it all. How wrong it is, that I’m here, as happy as I could ever be. And everyone else is dead. Because I failed to do the one thing I was supposed to do. How do I justify that?”

“It’s not your fault”, Neil whispers, and wipes a tear from David’s face.

“How is it not? I was supposed to stop Sator. I failed. Now everyone’s gone.”

“If you try to stop someone from destroying the world and fail, the destruction is still the fault of the one doing it. Not yours. Never yours. Blaming yourself won’t change that. No amount of grief will undo what’s happened.”

David shakes his head. “Maybe so. But what does it say of me that most of the time, all I can think of is how lucky I am? That I am so happy to have you that everything else seems to fade away? Is that not horrifying?”

A wrinkle appears between Neil’s eyes as he stares at David, deep in thought. “If it makes you a monster, as you seem to think, then maybe you find solace in knowing that I’m a monster, as well. I know that the price you had to pay to be here is terrible, but I can’t help but feel grateful. You can’t really miss something you’ve never known, but I missed you so much. So, maybe we deserve each other?”

David huffs and twirls Neil’s hair with his fingers. “Maybe so.”

Hours, and many glasses later, Neil cups David’s face in his hands, and lets out a drunken giggle. “You have beautiful eyes, you know that? So warm, so deep. I could just drown in them. Just get lost in there forever. I wouldn’t mind. It would be less like getting lost, really, more like finally going home.” Neil pressed a short kiss on David’s lips. “Just beautiful. Gorgeous. And those lips? Must be kissed. Absolutely fantastic.”

David can’t help but find his intoxicated rambling adorable. “You’re drunk, Neil.”

“With love!” Neil declares, and kisses him softly. 

“Maybe. But mostly with Glühwein, I think.”

Neil giggles again.

David hadn’t quite realized how tall Neil was, not until he lays in the bed with him, his long limbs wrapped around David’s body. It’s almost noon, and David has been awake for hours, but he hasn’t had the heart to wake Neil up. Not with him so deep asleep, not with David feeling so warm, so safe.

“Morning”, David hears a soft, sleepy voice say.

“Morning”, he answers. “Hangover?”

Neil yawns. “Not really.”

“Seriously?”

“That’s my superpower. I very rarely get hangover. Just a little tired. How about you? Slept well?”

David runs his hands through Neil’s messy hair and smiles. “Yes. Better than in years. You seem to have that effect on me.”

“Glad to hear I am useful”, Neil says, and pulls David to a kiss. “Oh, and I think I forgot yesterday. Merry Christmas, my love.”

With a soft chuckle, David pulls Neil closer. “Merry Christmas, Neil.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) and sorry for posting pointless fluff. I just had serious case of Christmas-y fluffy protagoneil feelings. Sometimes, you just need to write them cuddling, right?
> 
> You can find me at tumblr @kristalliankka, if you feel like yelling about tenet or something.


End file.
